1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with the art of capacitors having multiple electrodes and more particularly concerns means for adjusting the capacitance values of capacitors employed in microcircuits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore it has been very difficult to vary the capacitance of a fixed multilayer capacitor. One expedient has been to connect a plurality of similar capacitors together in various series and parallel combinations, leaving unchanged the capacitance value of each fixed capacitor. This expedient is not practical where space is limited or only one capacitor is available. Another expedient is to burn a hole in a capacitor by a laser beam or other means to burn away portions of the dielectric body of the capacitor and portions of the internally spaced electrodes. This method has several objections. Firstly, it is not possible to adjust precisely the desired change in capacitance value. Secondly, it is not possible to reverse the adjustment, once made. Thirdly, the invasive penetration of the dielectric body undesirably exposes the interior to ambient conditions which may not be conducive to stable operation of the capacitor. Fourthly, the method requires special, expensive equipment which is generally not available to the user of the capacitor in the field.